~Chapter 20~

"Shit. We just can't seem to get a break around here." Meta Knight muttered as he saw red-hot sparks fly from the Halberd as ammunition from the adversary ships collided with it. He grabbed ahold of the wheel and accelerated the ship. The ships behind him kept up a persistant pursuit. The lurching of the Halberd woke Kirby and Fumu, and the twosome, still tired, came running.

"What's happening?" Kirby demanded, and was answered wordlessly as another hot blast was delivered to the ship's flank.

"Great," Fumu groaned, and Kirby noticed how red her eyes looked from sleep deprivation, "Who wants to kill us now?"

"I am assuming Texico noticed our abscence, but how did they track us so quickly...?" Meta Knight said, and Kirby gasped,

"That part we used to fix the wing! Suppose it had a tracker or something in it?" he suggested. He and Fumu toppled sideways as another heavy blast issued to the Halberd, making the floor jerk under their feet.

"Maybe, maybe not. What matters now it that we get away from them before we are destroyed." the knight replied, and jerked the wheel suddenly, making the ship kneel over hard enough for the teens to slide into the wall. Fumu grabbed Kirby's paw, and for a split second shared another long eye-to-eye stare.

The moment quickly ended as a huge blast hit the battleship, and this time spark rained from the lights in the ceiling. The traid ducked, and found themselves in total darkness.

"The power..." Fumu murmured, looking frightened. She flinched as the ship recieved another blow that practically turned it sideways.

"Kirby!" Meta Knight said sharply, "Get to the cannons, and see if you can bring them down. But don't take risks." he warned, and his apprentice nodded and charged off. Fumu took a shuddering breath,

"What do I do?" she asked. Meta Knight gave her a sideways glance,

"Stay down, and hold on." he said, and Fumu shook her head,

"I'm not helpless, you know. I could raise a few firearms too!" she insisted, "Look, I know you're worried about me but..." she was cut off as the ship violently rocked sideways, and Fumu was sent flying. She shrieked briefly as she felt nothing but rushing air, and grunted painfully as her body smashed against the wall. She went limp, her eyes fluttering shut. She barely heard Meta Knight call her name urgently before the world went black and spun away.

...

Kirby gripped the cannon with his small pink paws, uncertainy weaving through him. But he steeled his courage determindly, and let the ammo fly from his weapon. At first, the bullets shot uselessly through space, and Kirby glared at it through the window. Gritting his teeth, he fired off again, cringing as the ship's floor bucked under him. The sharp sound of a bullet on metal indicated that he had hit one of the enemy ships.

The ship practically flipped over as a mammoth blow from one the Texico vehicles hit. Kirby flew back, hitting the wall behind him. Momentarily stunned, he heard his mentor shout out to Fumu. Alarm laced through his viens, and the pink warrior was dashing down the hallways at record speed.

The Halberd was creaking loudly, and the acrid stench of burnt metal weaved into the air, hurting Kirby's lungs, but he accelerated his pace until he found Meta Knight, one paw on the steering wheel, the other one awkwardly holding Fumu. Kirby noticed her eyes were shut and her body was unmoving, "What happened?" he demanded,

"She was knocked out by the last hit." he replied without looking at him, "Kirby, take her and get somewhere safe for now. I'll have to find a place to land."

Kirby accepted Fumu's unconscious form, and blinked, "Where are those Texico bastards?" he asked. The knight's gaze flickered out the windshield, which was partly obscured with smoke,

"I think you downed one, Kirby, and the other must have retreated." he replied, "But the ship's going down. I need you and Fumu to take cover. It'll be a rough landing." he said.

Kirby nodded, and half-dragged, half-carried Fumu toward a room, where he and her crowded beneath the bedside table. Kirby tried unsuccessfully to rouse Fumu from her unconsciousness, but to no avail. Kirby felt something wet and sticky on one paw, and drew it away to see a splotch of blood that had come from Fumu's head. Alarmed, he saw the back of her head was bleeding from where it struck the metal wall. No doubt she must have a concussion, Kirby thought worredly. Silently, he creeped out from under the table, snatched a towel from the drawer, and wrapped it taut around Fumu's head in a makeshift bandage.

He gathered her close, "You'll be okay, Fumu." he promised. He felt the ship hitch in its suffering, and huddled close to his unconscious friend.

...

For quite a while, or a few minutes, Fumu and Kirby hid underneath the table, Fumu still unwaking. Suddenly, the ship shook hard, as if it was expieriencing its own earthquake, and tipped over sharply, violently, sending Kirby and Fumu, still in Kirby's short arms, tumbling out from their shelter and into the halls.

The ship was falling now, Kirby could tell, and the room he had previously hid in was now above him, as the Halberd began to sink through the air sideways.

Kirby suddenly flared his wings, and pulled Fumu as close as he could to him, shielding her with his five-foot tawny wings. He caught a dark flash in the hallway, and saw his mentor standing by him. The knight's mask was scratched and even fractured, and Kirby saw blood dripping down his arm, where something had slashed it in the impact, "Kirby, are you alright?" he asked urgently.

The pink puff shuddered slightly. He was already pretty badly injured from the incident in Texico labs, and the tumbling around the ship was jostling his wounds painfully, but his sole concern was on Fumu. Lying, he nodded, and asked, "What's going on?"

The swordsman sighed, almost sounding mournful, "The ship's going down..." he murmured, and suddenly the sharp wail of electrical static ripped the air. The ship was shaking beneath their feet, and distant cracks and bangings sounded. Meta Knight gasped, and his own wings flared out, "Get down!" he ordered, and Kirby felt a dark wing fall over him protectively. He felt the ship hitch and saw a burst of harsh light from around his mentor's bat wing, and heard an ear-shattering bang!

He saw nothing more as the Halberd exploded mid-air.